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->"''Dear reader, this is the story of how I met the woman of my life, the one that compli... '''Wait, don't leave yet! [[GirlOnGirlIsHot This book has lots of Hot Lesbian Bondage Sex!!!!]]''' Good... [[ShowSomeLeg That got your attention...]]''"-->--'''Lisa'''

''[[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/gallery/ Sunstone]]'' is a slice-of-life, BDSM-centric webcomic about the various relationships of people in and around the fetish scene. It's written and drawn by Website/DeviantArt author Shiniez, a pen name of the Croatian comics artist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stjepan_Sejic Stjepan Sejic]] of ''ComicBook/{{Ravine}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'', and ''ComicBook/DeathVigil'' fame. Sejic is also known to the dA community as [[http://nebezial.deviantart.com/gallery/ Nebezial]] and is married to the artist and writer of the shared-universe webcomic ''Webcomic/BloodStain''.

Primarily focused on Lisa Williams, a budding writer who kept her submissive desires secret for years, and Allison Carter, an adorkable dominant woman largely isolated from the world around her, the strip follows the pair as their initial online chat leads to their meeting in the real world. Complications ensue as their friendship and play-based relationship quickly develops much further than intended, and both women have to come to terms with their mutual attraction while dealing with their personal issues along the way.

The author considers the comic a way to [[AuthorTract communicate the message]] that BDSM can be performed in a SafeSaneAndConsensual manner and within loving relationships, and the story and strong characterisation features just as prominently as the fetish artwork. Major supporting characters include Alan, a world-class DeadpanSnarker who ExperimentedInCollege with Ally in various kinds of BDSM play; Anne, a free-spirited tattoo artist who protests a little too much about the alternative lifestyles of her friends; and Tom and Cassie, a happily married couple who are more casual about the scene but still enjoy the BDSM world as a part of who they are.

Additionally, the 'random pictures' folder contains pin-ups and strips of uncertain continuity that the author created in the comic's early days, such as Ally's drunken declaration of love to Lisa over one Christmas, though many of them have since been adapted or expanded upon and introduced into the main story. ''Sunstone'', that is, Lisa and Ally's story, concluded on October 27, 2016--almost five years after Sejic had uploaded the first drafts to DA. Going forward, he has announced his plans for three spin-off comics: ''Mercy'', which focuses on Alan and Anne; ''Jasper'', which focuses on Marion; and a third, as of yet unnamed, future comic that will tie them all up. Metaphorically speaking.

The work has gone into print as a series of graphic novels by Top Cow, with the planned five volumes published to date; the print versions feature remastered artwork to address a few [[OffModel inconsistencies]] in the original web versions, slightly rewritten dialogue and additional bonus content. Also, as ''Sunstone'' is hosted on Website/DeviantArt, note that you must have a DA account and set the content filter to 'Mature' in order to read it, due to the frequent (if relatively mild) NSFW content.

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!!This webcomic contains examples of:

* {{Adorkable}}** Ally can be a total spaz when she thinks about how lucky she was to find Lisa.** Anne is showing signs of this as well, though hers is more of a bashful reticence in regards to Lisa. It's adorable.* AfraidOfNeedles: Cassie, much to Lisa's amusement.* AggressiveSubmissive: Lisa is assertive and generally self-confident (she does experience self-doubt in some matters, of course) in most of her life, and is also a sexual submissive; note that this is not particularly unusual in real life.* AllWomenAreDomsAllMenAreSubs** Averted with Alan, much to Anne's surprise in the original continuity.** Harper is another example of a dominant male.** Tom and Cassie are a couple who enjoy switching the roles every so often. Marion also appears to be a switch, if future teasers are to be believed: being Alan's sub and later James's Domme. ** And of course, Lisa herself is a submissive woman.* AlternateContinuity: The older pieces are more random, stylistically different, and [[SafeSaneAndConsensual a bit....unsafe.]] They're mostly fetish pinups, with a few plottier moments(like Ally's noncanon AnguishedDeclarationOfLove). See EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.* AmbiguouslyJewish: A number of characters use "oy" as an interjection. Since the comic is set in New York, that may just be YiddishAsASecondLanguage, as mentioned ''infra''.* AmicableExes[=/=]BetterAsFriends: Ally and Alan.* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: In an alternate strip [[note]]integrated into cannon as a discarded story idea by Lisa[[/note]], the first time Ally tells Lisa she loves her, she's drunk as a post. The anguished part comes when Ally wakes up hungover and straightjacketed, and Lisa gently teases her for it before returning her affection. The actual continuity has Lisa make the declaration.* ArcWords: ''Sunstone'', Ally's safeword which she gives to all of her subs, which has become the official title of the comic.* AuthorTract: It is common to encounter short speeches from the characters' mouths about BDSM informing the reader of such things as the importance of considering safety, the responsibility of the Dom and the importance of trust and honesty in the relationship, but given the reasoning that this comic partially exists to educate and dispel myths these moments do not feel out of place, moreover the comic more often than not ''[[ShowDontTell shows]]'' the reader why this is the case for the characters. It also helps that the comic shows a character who is both uninterested in BDSM and oblivious to it's inner-workings yet doesn't look down on him.* BadLiar: Tom doesn't seem to realise that, although it is fun to allude to the truth during a lie, it can be detrimental to the lie effect.* BerserkButton: Ally flies off the handle during an MMO session when [[Webcomic/BloodStain Dr. Stein]] needs on and ends up with a boss drop she had her eye on, resulting in a ClusterFBomb-laden PVP duel.* BetaCouple: Alan and Anne are this in finale of the first arc, although WordOfGod confirms they will be the focus of the second arc. Tom and Cassie qualify much more neatly.* BeneathTheMask: A recurring theme of the webcomic is masks and how despite the fact these characters use persona in their BDSM, beneath these masks they are all perfectly normal (and in Ally's case adorkable) people. This quote adequately sums the author's attitude up succinctly:--> ''fetishists and eople who are into bdsm are pretty much sexual cosplayers/roleplayers and sure, a minority of us takes things too far, and unfortunately, we get observed through the prism of the extremes of the minority.\\\\pretty much s if gamers were all considered to be crazy obsessive pros cursing out people and dying from excessive gaming marathons.\\\\stereotypes are tools of the lazy mind.. and one of the ideas behind this story is to dispel at least some of them---> '''[[http://comments.deviantart.com/1/388323759/3148313212 *shiniez]]''', 26th July 2013* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Anne, Ally and Lisa, respectively.* BiTheWay** Anne, who is shown to marry [[spoiler: Alan]] in the future but also seems to have a crush on Lisa and Ally both, and in Lisa's stories has indulged in all female threesome fantasies.** Ally and Lisa could both be considered this as they only had relations with guys before meeting each other, but then again the speed and depth of which they fall for one another implies that [[ClosetKey they may have been in the closet and not known it]] due to trying to fulfill their other needs.* BigDamnKiss: [[spoiler:Between Ally and Lisa at the end of Chapter 5 when Ally finally figures it out]].* BodyHorror: Played in disturbingly realistic fashion when we're shown the dangers of careless rope work. Marion uses the wrong sort of knots on her wrists combined with improper positioning of the ropes on the bed out of obsession with trying to prove Alan wrong about 24/7 submission (which Alan isn't into for a variety of reasons, chiefest among them being that it is highly stressful for the dom), and finds herself trapped and alone while the blood circulation to her hands is cut off. Her hands go lifeless and ''visibly dark grey in colour.'' It gets worse when we're told this had caused blood clots and Marion could have ''lost'' her hands, if not her life.* BondageIsBad** Averted completely. WordOfGod has stated that the comic exists to show healthy BDSM relationships accurately and educate people on the falsehood of this trope.** Also deconstructed, as the comic [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/gallery/38157378#/d4ndfcl acknowledges this popular view of BDSM,]] and also looks at how BDSM can realistically go wrong when people let it go to their heads or don't give it the needed prior planning.* BoundAndGagged: Lisa, Anne, and sometimes Allison are featured this way. Even Alan had his moments during his and Ally's college experimentations.* BrainsAndBondage: Allison is some kind of computer programmer, and the rest of the cast doesn't seem to be slouches in the intelligence department either.* BrainyBrunette: As mentioned above, Allison.* BrickJoke: During their first meeting Ally ponders on getting a cat to complete her "villain" look. Come chapter 3, she ends up babysitting her neighbor's cat AND nailing said villain look!* BuffySpeak: When describing her first S&M movie, Ally discusses the "porny exaggeration" and "costumey visual side."* TheCameo: Lisa and Ally have a cameo appearance in the restaurant where [[DeathVigil Clara declares her love to Jon]].* [[CantHoldHisLiquor Can't Hold Her Liquor]]: Four vodka cranberries turns Ally into the "[[InVinoVeritas honest drunk]]."* CantSpitItOut** Ally is good talking in circles and not getting to the point when she's nervous or scared, luckly Lisa is also good at getting it out of her.** Both women have a ''major'' problem admitting that they love each other and that they're not JustFriends, which [[PoorCommunicationKills ends up biting them in a big way]] come Chapter 4.* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: Allison is caught indulging in some "alone time" by Alan after her quite memorable first night with Lisa.* CharacterTics** Lisa has a habit of biting her lip when she's turned on ([[PottyEmergency or needs to pee]]). Ally ''loves'' it.** Occasionally we see Ally rubbing her wrists when she's anxious, [[MyGreatestFailure there's a reason for this.]]* CoolestClubEver: Harper's club the characters visit (and Chris and Alan do commissions for) is pretty impressive in both size and furnishings with a stage and a VIP lounge; it also hosts frequent S&M performances. WordOfGod is that the series is set in New York so the club isn't implausible.* ComingOutStory: One major story element is that neither Ally nor Lisa considered themselves to be gay or bi before meeting each other, and have to come to terms with their mutual attraction along with their roles in the D/s part of their relationship. Ally eventually admits it to Alan ("I'm... gay." "Like a rainbow unicorn.") and a future strip teases at how Lisa will eventually introduce her girlfriend to her family.* ConvenientlyCommonKink: There are a LOT of BDSM practitioners in this comic. Largely justified as they all either met each other through the scene, or entered the scene due to meeting each other.* CostumePorn[=/=]UnlimitedWardrobe: And ''how!'' This series displays some stunning examples of fetish fashion, sometimes dedicating huge lengths of page to showing someone's full costume. [[StealthPun Subtropes]] include:** CollaredByFashion[=/=]SlaveCollar*** Naturally fetish collars appear regularly in the comic: all the subs have them. Most of them are leather but special mention goes to the one Alan provides Anne which is ''made of solid silver'' and the appearances of posture collars.*** Lisa apparently gets one too, indicated by one of the pictures in the creators gallery.** CoolMask: Harper and other performers at his club have notably cool masks.** OfCorsetsSexy: Sported by all three girls at various points. [[spoiler: Possibly Alan as well in the future.]]** DressedAllInRubber: Common, the dress Lisa wears to the club is just one example.** SexySantaDress: Worn by the all three girls during their first Christmas together.** CostumeTestMontage: in chapter three, where the majority of a strip is dedicated to Lisa and Ally spending an hour just trying on Ally's very extensive costume collection and earlier in the first chapter where both are getting ready for their first meeting. ** In an as-yet future strip (which may end up being one of Lisa's stories) Ally takes both Lisa and Anne to Blizz Con, with her [[WorldOfWarcraft dressed as a Blood Elf and them dressed as Draenai]]. Also results in a JizzInMyPants moment to some unfortunate nerd that commented on GirlOnGirlIsHot... who is then treated to some ''very'' lurid details of this by Anne.* CrackIsCheaper: InUniverse; Collecting BDSM equipment and outfits is Ally's only recreational spending outlet, when Lisa asks Ally how much has been spent on all this stuff Ally refuses to answer. WordOfGod is that it's been ''forty grand.'' Alan even calls her on spending so much on this stuff in one strip. Ally had spent so much money on stuff that just sat in her closet that Alan actually cut her off and refused to sell her any more (at least until Lisa comes along and they start putting the numerous outfits to use).* CrazyPrepared: It seems that Ally is equipped to handle many different fetishes and situations that arises. Lampshaded in a strip.-->'''Lisa:''' I thought you weren't into Pet Play?-->'''Ally:''' I was never in the scouts either but I still stick to the ''Always be Prepared" motto.* CreatorCameo: An odd example, but Tom looks ''identical'' to Sejic's drawings of himself despite Tom being an original character.* CuffsOffRubWrists** Explored through out the strip; normally the characters don't do this as the restraints are intended to be comfortable and avert this; but in the instances that things go wrong; such as when Alan was separated from Ally when she was tied up we see strong red marks on her body and Alan soothing the sore wrists. ** Played with too in the case of Marion and her accident; due to the fact she had her blood circulation cut off the ropes couldn't be taken off in the first place; so we don't see Marion do this; but we do see Ally doing this to herself unconsciously as she tells the traumatic story.* DaydreamSurprise: Some of the [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness earlier, more outlandish]] strips have been revealed to be fantasies of one or more main characters. * DeadpanSnarker** Alan, very much so. Overlaps with FirstPersonSmartass when he ''thinks'' of something snarky to say but decides against it.** Cassie is also quite the snarker and quite a talented one at that.* DeathGlare** Ally shoots Cassie a ''vicious'' one of these when the latter walks in on Ally and Lisa in an, um, ''intimate'' moment in the ladies' bathroom.** At the start of Chapter 5, Lisa outdoes Ally in a ''big'' way when her brother Jimmy suggests inviting Ally (who she is very, ''very'' pissed at following the end of Chapter 4) over to their parents' place. The glare she gives him could "curdle milk" according to him.* {{Determinator}}: Anne, when it comes to seeing Alan crossdress. [[spoiler:She eventually succeeds, but the audience doesn't see the result.]] [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/gallery/38157378#/d5qm332 And again, we never see the successful result.]]* {{Dissimile}}: "There we were... our own little slice of heaven. Y'know... if heaven was very dusty... and I guess... not so little."* {{Dominatrix}}: Ally is one, of course, and her BDSM relationship with her sub Lisa is the whole point of the series. * DreadfulMusician: The lead singer of Dark Bysmuth, who features in the final scene at the Crimson.* DudeLooksLikeALady: Alan has been hinted at this. At least two characters have attempted to get him to crossdress. Both have failed, epically in Anne's case.** James is a more straightforward example, being a crossdressing sub who Marion ends up with.* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The comic used to be a collection of pin-up images consisting of Ally dominating Lisa and Anne. Many of these featured descriptions of Ally enslaving them and subjecting them to unsafe punishments, as might be expected of a pure fantasy scenario. Since deciding to write ''Sunstone'' as a serious story, the author removed most of the problematic strips...for them to later reappear [[DaydreamSurprise as fantasy sequences of main characters.]]* EarlyBirdCameo: The name of the MMORPG Ally plays, ''Moonstone Gate'', is first revealed in a ''Webcomic/BloodStain'' milestone image.* EmbarrassingNickname: Lisa is yet to enjoy any of her older brother Mike's names for her. The ones we hear are Betty, short for Elizabeth, which is ''not'' Lisa's name, and Lassie in reference to her BDSM collar (which, if it wasn't for Mike's ignorance to the collar's significance would be downright ''offensive'')* EpicFail: Anne's early attempts to get Alan to cross dress. [[LampshadeHanging The pages even end with the word "fail."]]* EveryoneCanSeeIt: As the meet with Anne for Lisa's tattoo approaches, everyone is picking up on Ally and Lisa's growing attraction and feelings for each other, no matter how hard the two insist that they are JustFriends. [[spoiler:It comes to a head at the end of Chapter 4, with much going to hell for everyone involved]].* ExperimentedInCollege: In different respects; Lisa and Anne both mention having had same-sex experiences, while a fairly detailed sequence of strips go into how Ally and Alan met in college and experimented with types of BDSM play, gradually becoming the doms we know.* FacePalm: Ally does this when Cassie calls her a Vulcan. Which is entirely appropriate, considering [[Creator/PatrickStewart who gives]] [[MemeticMutation the most famous face palm.]]* FanConvention: In Lisa's stories, Allison seems to be a fan of taking her subs to these for costume contests.* FanDisservice: Ally on the second volume's cover. She's wearing nothing but a bra and leather pants, brandishing a coil of rope, but the effect is somewhat ruined by her [[DullEyesOfUnhappiness glassy eyes]] and mascara-streaked cheeks. A milder case than most, but still unsettling.* FictionalVideoGame: ''Moonstone Gate'', a MMORPG that Ally frequents and where {{Crossover}}s with ''Webcomic/BloodStain'' occur in.* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Mike and Lisa fill the former and latter roles respectively, interestingly despite the fact that Lisa is the younger one and the one leading the double life. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Mike's marriage was on the rocks, and he was trying to do the open relationship thing as a way to try to deal with it, only to make things worse, and only talking things out steered him and his wife on the right track again]].* ForegoneConclusion: There are several strips that show what will happen in the future including a "5 years later" reunion. Through FlashForward we know that [[spoiler: Ally and Lisa get married as do Anne and Alan, with Lisa even introducing her family to her girlfriend. At some point Marion reappears and renews her friendship with the group.]]* FourthDateMarriage: Lisa moves in with Ally after just three weeks of meeting face to face, and actually ''before'' a formal date. The narrative acknowledges how rash this was, with both Lisa's little brother and Ally's best friend Alan calling them on it. * FramingStory: The entire story is being written by five-years-in-the-future Lisa as a form of memoir, with several panels in various strips showing the future relationship.* FriendsWithBenefits: Ally and Lisa are this for all of three days before RomanceEnsues.* GamerChick: Ally.* {{Gayngst}}** Averted so far. For Ally and Lisa this is their first relationship with another woman. Lisa didn't consider herself to possibly be gay until the relationship developed past something physical into something romantic, but even so it obviously doesn't concern her due to the small amount of thought she has spared to the topic.** It's been briefly mentioned in a spat Lisa had with a co-worker who she believed would be the extremely judgmental type... after she walks off, the readers get to see that co-worker with her girlfriend.** There is some in the comic but it mostly comes from shock that they are actually falling in love with each other, both assumed that because they were both girls sex would just be no strings attached fun. While them both being girls is part of that shock the majority of the {{Angst}} comes from defining what their relationship is and how far they are willing to take it. * GenderBlenderName: Mr. Bonkers the cat. Though it must be said that telling the gender of cats isn't a simple task; Lisa might be mistaken. [[spoiler:It eventually turns out that the naming was a Kramer family tradition, regardless of the kitty's gender]].* GeniusDitz: Anne reveals to Lisa that she is a math whiz during one of Ally's sessions, much to the surprise and horror of Lisa who thought that Tattoo Artists sucked at math.* GirlOnGirlIsHot: All the men in the story seem to think so. For the readers, it's more heartwarming than anything else.* GreenEyedMonster** Arises after Lisa decides to write a story for Anne that involves the trio in a threesome. It makes Ally think that Lisa only thinks of her as her Domme/friend, and Lisa gets a complex after a picture of Anne and Ally together gets a tremendously positive response online.** Further compounded when Ally believes that Lisa's wrangling for a threesome, when it's actually Lisa's way of making sure she's still included after it seems like Ally and Anne hit it off well. Lisa felt very replaceable, which led to everything going to hell at the end of Chapter 4.* GuiltComplex: Ally is determined to blame herself for what happened to Marion. Lisa points out that Ally is fully aware she wasn't responsible, but this knowledge doesn't make her feel any better. She is still pretty shook up about the accident and as a result she's not visited the club or used her skills with rope since. Though we see that she gets over the rope aversion in time.* HappilyMarried: Ally with Lisa and Alan with Anne five years into the future of the main events of the comic which are HowWeGotHere. Tom and Cassie are already there.* HasTwoThumbsAnd: Played for [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/boom-503437089 very sad and serious drama]] near the end of Chapter 4 after [[spoiler:Anne tells both Ally and Lisa to go to hell]]. (NSFW)-->'''Lisa:''' What has two thumbs and is a weapons-grade hypocrite? This girl!* [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday Have I Mentioned I Am Vanilla Today]] Anne has this in spades; her growing curiosity with BDSM goes hand in hand with her attempts to assure everyone she has no interest in it. The same applies to her constantly inconsistent portrayal of her sexuality. * HeadTiltinglyKinky: A younger Lisa's reaction upon opening her brother's [[PornStash homework folder]] on their shared computer.* HeavySleeper: Yet another aspect of Ally that contrasts her eloquent Mistress persona. She sleeps with her mouth wide open and snores like an animal.* HiddenDepths: Ally at first seems like a confident and successful person; but it becomes clear that she is terribly lonely and has some regrets she can't manage to overcome. Also [[spoiler: Valerie first appears to be a condescending bigot, but in chapter three it's revealed that this was a case of UnreliableNarrator; Lisa was too caught up in her new lifestyle to see Valerie is actually concerned for her friend Lisa.]]* HowWeGotHere: Chapter one starts with Lisa taking off her wedding ring, revealing it's inscription "''Forever Mine''", she threads the ring onto her necklace, cracks her knuckles, and starts writing how it all transpired.* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: Twice the comic has shown what can happen when people let BDSM go to their heads. Ally and Alan neglected their college work and turned their relationship into a competitive game of ego feeding, which ultimately led to their breakup. Ally even referred to herself as having been like an addict at the time. Marion became obsessed with the game, and was so keen to convince Alan to go further with her that she lost her job and neglected to properly consider the safety issues of self bondage, leading to a nightmarish scenario that almost cost her her hands, if not her life.* IDidntMeanToTurnYouOn** Once Anne starts exploring Lisa's erotic writings (Most of which features an InkSuitActor of herself), her interactions with her new friend becomes understandably more complex, especially because, as a self described hobbyist Lisa is keen to bring up these topics with Anne as much as possible. ** Later averted into ''I DID Mean To Turn You On'' where Lisa starts outright writing erotica for Anne, this gets her in trouble.* IdiotBall: Keen to convince Alan to try 24/7 dominance and submission Marion did something everyone including herself agrees was stupid, unfortunately for Marion she realized this only at the moment she slipped the knots about her wrists tight without a way to undo them.* IllBeInMyBunk: [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/mr-fix-it-273868042 Alan invokes this]] as he helps Ally undo a bondage device Lisa and Anne manage to trap themselves in. Anne doesn't help things as she [[TheImmodestOrgasm succumbs to the device she's trapped in,]] much to Alan's chagrin.-->'''Alan:''' Well now that's just cruel...** Alan has to head to the bathroom for some "alone time" when Ally and Lisa's latex wardrobe gets to be too much for him.* ImprovisedClothes: Overlapping with improvised tools, but Ally does a fairly good job of turning a pair of stockings, two post-it notes and a cat's cradle into bondage gear for her first time with Anne in the first continuity - later on, the scene was turned into a story Lisa wrote for Anne.* InfiniteCanvas: The comic takes full advantage of sprawling downwards, panels can flow into each other and often great space is used to show characters head to toe. WordOfGod has stated the only real problem with getting the work published is the huge amount of reformatting that would have to take place to fit the comic into a book.* InkSuitActor: In-universe; Lisa's characters in her online erotic writings are clearly based on her and Ally. This causes problems when Lisa decides the logical way to introduce her new friend Anne to the ideas of the scene is to link her to her bibliography. LoveTriangle tropes ensue. Gets even worse when Lisa explicitly writes Anne into the story.* InnerMonologue: As the framing device shows, the story is narrated by Lisa from five years in the future, but often the narrative assumes the perspective of present day Lisa and what she's thinking in the moment. Moreover we also witness the inner thoughts of other characters; an entire segment is narrated by Anne's internal thoughts while Lisa is completely absent and we sometimes see Alan internally wrestling over the best wisecrack to make, usually picking the wrong one. It's a JustifiedTrope: Lisa got numerous, numerous interviews, getting the story from everyone. * InstantCostumeChange: Subverted. The comic touches on how difficult it is to get in and out of latex (especially when sweat is factored in). We even see Ally having to wrestle a latex stocking off of Lisa.* TheInternetIsForPorn: Anne finds out that when you're trying to get an idea of what your best friend is doing with her husband in their alone time, google image search with the safe-search turned off is ''not'' the best way to go about it.* InvulnerableKnuckles: Averted. Ally hurts her hand quite badly punching a wall, to the point of needing a cast for much of Chapter 5. [[spoiler:She heals the injury eventually, but when trying to get a corset on for her climactic date with Lisa, she tears the ligament again, so she has to wear the cast again]].* ISeeLondon: Subverted when Alan meets Lisa, she's wearing the coat she arrived at Ally's house with but with nothing under it.--> '''Alan''' I see Paris, I see France, guess what I'm [[VaporWear not seeing?!]]* ItsNotPornItsArt: It's also a positive representation of bondage and the relationships that can form in the BSDM culture.* JadeColoredGlasses: Alan is noticeably jaded about his lifestyle and how people view it after being tormented for it in college and having had a tragic failed Dominant/submissive relationship with Marion. The author has hinted that this was not all there is to it: [[spoiler:Following Marion's accident, Alan spent a night at the police precinct, where he was interrogated for four hours regarding "what he had done to Marion", long before he had actually found out what she had done. They were ready to throw him in jail if Ally hadn't come to pick him up and corroborated his story.]]* JerkassFacade: Ally, when she's in her "Mistress" persona.* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Alan.* JizzedInMyPants: Anne gets a geek at one of these conventions to do this by describing the sex games she'll partake in that night.* KnuckleCracking: A habit of Lisa's, and one of the few things about her that annoys the crap out of Ally. Lisa does this at the very start of the series before beginning the memoirs and again later when to help wake herself up she ''cracks her neck.''* LipstickLesbian: Lisa and Ally become this and [[spoiler: Valerie is revealed to be this.]]* LonerTurnedFriend: Back in college Alan was so cynical towards other people's attitudes towards him and set in his FriendlessBackground it took a while for him to realise Ally was actually being ''friendly.'' So much so that Ally had to resort to [[SexyCoatFlashing strong measures]] to get his attention and show him she had no reason to further the slander against him. Ever since? [=BFFs.=]* LoveMakesYouDumb** This hit Marion hard; being new to the type of relationship she was sharing with Alan caused her to discard her better judgement in favor of doing everything she could to take things further, leading to a very bad situation.** Ally and Lisa aren't exempt from this. It's the main reason they rush into moving with each other after just three weeks. * MaliciousSlander: In college Alan was wrongly accused of being gay and subject to harassment because of this; things escalated when his sketchbook of BDSM artwork was discovered, stolen, photocopied and then posted around the campus. Worse still it was one of Ally's friends who kept the gossip about Alan circulating. This is one of the reasons for Alan's cynicism about mainstream society's views of his subculture.* TheMatchmaker: Cassie's ''other'' hobby. There's not been a scene between her and Alan or Anne where she's not trying to get the two of them to meet. She's not very good at it either. Neither of them were ready for a relationship at that moment, and when, after some time, they do meet Cassie has got nothing to do with it (though she must have felt pretty smug when they got married).* MeetCute: In the original timeline, Alan meets his future wife Anne while he's measuring her for Ally's "gear." The actual time they meet, it turns out they've known each other for a good while, but haven't seen each other in forever.* MistakenForGay: Alan was this in college.* MistakenForJunkie: Ally's neglect of her day to day life during her relationship with Alan caused her mother to make this mistake.* TheMissusAndTheEx** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] The first time that Alan, Ally, and Lisa are in a room together, it's only a little awkward because the three were up all night. After some coffee and snarking, Alan and Lisa become friends in no time and it's never brought up again.** Crops up again a little more straight when Alan's previous sub Marion first met Allison she wrongly assumed they were trying to set up a threesome.** Marion is set to appear sometime in the future, and only time will tell how this will affect Ally and Lisa or Alan and Anne.* MoodWhiplash: Ally spends several panels of one comic stressing out in her attempts to come up with ideas for the next session, then practically panics when the doorbell rings. She goes to the door, dressed in her domme outfit and everything...only to be confronted with the [[CoolOldLady elderly Mrs. Kramer]], who asks her to watch her cat for two weeks. The fact that Mrs. Kramer barely reacts to Ally's costume - while Ally herself is completely thrown off her game - makes it even better. --> '''Mrs. Kramer:''' "You kids and your new-fashioned rock and roll clothes..."* MsFanservice: Ally, Lisa, and Anne. All three started out as softcore porn to help the author out of a bad case of art block -- it wasn't until later that the author decided to write them as characters in an ongoing narrative. As the bonus material of the first volume notes:--> '''Stjepan:''' Hey, Linda, what do you think of this idea? I'm thinking these two characters would be the theme of the whole account. Just... y'know... pictures... maybe some simple joke strips.--> '''Linda:''' Sure, why not? You gonna make a story out of it, or?--> '''Stjepan:''' Fuck no! I'm '''done''' with stories! I just wan to draw some simple stuff... [[HilariousInHindsight nothing serious...]]* MundaneMadeAwesome: Repairing Ally and Lisa's relationship starts with ''[[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/time-to-write-608733988 EPIC KNUCKLE CRACKING!]]''* NakedPeopleTrappedOutside: Alan {{invoke|dTrope}}s this trope to escape a well-deserved smack across the face from Ally. No matter how pissed off she is at him, she's not about to chase him out onto the street when dressed head-to-toe in fetish wear. Especially not when there's a sweet old lady present.* NerdsAreSexy: Ally and Alan are complete geeks over fighting games and BDSM. Moreover Lisa speculates that all practitioners of BDSM are in a way nerds, because (as the comic shows) the advanced stuff uses so much thought and attention to be done safely you naturally have to be an enthusiast type.* NestedStory: The outermost story focuses on Lisa writing her book detailing the events of her relationship with Ally, the main meat of the story takes place some years prior and shows us these events in which characters often elaborate on their backstory through another level of flashbacks, and in a different direction when we see into the fiction written by Lisa in the fiction written by Lisa.* NeverASelfMadeWoman: Allison is a strong aversion; she made herself a fortune completely independently, and although she once had a relationship with a now mildly successful Alan the relationship held Ally ''back'' rather than give her support and it was only when she found her independence she started her fortune.* NoAntagonist: ''Sunstone'' has no villain or other antagonist, with the main problems that Ally and Lisa face stemming from their own fears and failings and their inability/unwillingness to [[CannotSpitItOut just spit it out]]. * NoPeriodsPeriod** Viciously averted; as Lisa is preparing to head to Ally's place to make up for five long and agonizing days away from her, her period hits at the worst possible time.** And pops up later when it's revealed that Lisa and Ally are now on the same cycle.* NostalgicNarrator: A now happily married Lisa fulfills this role.* OfficialCouple: Ally and Lisa.* OnlySaneMan: Alan frequently takes this role, especially during his conversations with Ally.* OnlineAlias: Ally's and Lisa's usernames in ''Moonstone Gate'' are "allycat" and "liiiiiiiiisa", respectively.* OutOfOrder** Constantly in the strip's older days; the strips were posted in the order they were completed, not in the order of chronology or even in the order they were thought up. Expect to do some headscratching if you figure it out without the unofficial guide.** These days this is mostly averted as the comic is updating chronologically and in ''chapters.'' Previously standalone strips have been absorbed by the progressing narrative. Though future strips and pin ups are still released, these are kept in galleries separate from the chapters now making the comic much easier to navigate.* PenName: 'Shiniez' is the alter-ego of ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'' artist Stjepan Šejić, who also maintains another DA account under the name 'Nebezial'. Prior to the reveal, the author enjoyed trolling the fanbase ''way'' too much over whether they were the same person, or whether Shiniez was just a friend and student of Nebezial's due to the similar art styles.* PlatonicLifePartners: Ally and Alan become this after their break-up.* [[PlentyOfBlondes Plenty of Redheads]]: As lampshaded in [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/stuff-of-nightmares-313341947 this (SFW) strip]]. Also, plenty of names starting with an "A".* PoorCommunicationKills: A relationship, as a combined result of CantSpitItOut and the GreenEyedMonster. The catalyst for this was Ally deciding to try her hand with rope-based bondage again, to form new, happy memories involving it. Afterward, a blissed out Lisa says "Thank you <3". She meant it wholeheartedly, as she knew how big an issue that was for Ally - but Ally heard it as "Thank you for finally obliging me on this". Bonus points for showing the thought-processes of both characters during this and a later miscommunication.** The start of Chapter 5 has a literal version of this, as the pair text for a bit days after the fight - Lisa's convinced that the delayed responses are because Ally is coming up with lies to feed her, while the truth is that Ally's broken wrist makes texting nigh-impossible.* PottyEmergency: In the first chapter, Lisa's very first request to Ally when they have their first face-to-face meeting is for directions to the bathroom, since she ''really'' needs to pee. She is shown embarrassed that how awkward that felt.* {{Pride}}: This is what brought Ally and Alan's relationship to an end. The experience of dominating the other went to their heads and this turned into a competitive and destructive relationship when they didn't have the free time to share their desired role regularly. At the time the two of them also considered themselves superior to vanilla people; and this trait is still somewhat evident in Ally when she refers to casual practitioners of BDSM as "noobs".* PropertyOfLove: There are aspects of this to Lisa and Ally's relationship. Lisa gets a tattoo reading "Property of Allison" and her wedding ring has the inscription "Forever Mine" on its interior. Lisa also likes to wear her collar in public under a scarf to remind her that the previous night she "was hers". Marion on the other hand was keen to enter a situation where she was submissive to Alan 24/7 and wore her collar and referred to Alan as Master at all times. Ally worries that her developing feelings for Lisa, which have more than a few elements of this trope, are turning her into "the kind of dom she hates the most".** A (largely) non-canon panel [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/wasn-t-gonna-upload-this-but-542541384 celebrating the legalization of gay marriage in the US]] has this sweet exchange.--->'''Ally''': So... ball-and-chained... is it all you expected it to be?\\'''Lisa''': Hey, I'm a sub, that's kinda my thing!* RealityEnsues** After having some fun with Lisa by using a strap-on, Ally comments that she has a newfound respect for guys as her non-existent abs will hurt like hell the next day. This is also quickly followed up by Lisa's tongue going numb from some more play.** Another case had the locks on the bondage gear break and they had to get Alan to come over to get them open again.** After a very sexually and emotionally charged scene involving sensory deprivation, Ally touches Lisa as she tries to get up the nerve to confess how she feels about her...and ends up nearly giving Lisa a heart attack due to the shock of being brought out of sensory deprivation.** A few recent minicomics show the problems with working with latex. Namely, that without talcum powder or some other means to lubricate it, it is incredibly difficult to get on; and that latex has to be shined in order to produce that sexy sheen -- and that you don't want to get that shine stuff on a laminated floor or it will turn into something similar to an ice rink. And Sejic plans to address latex allergies in fetish culture in future chapters.** It's not a good idea to try to force a corset on with an only recently-healed hand.* RecycledInSpace: It's ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' but with '''hot lesbian bondage'''.* {{Retcon}}: As ''Sunstone'' progresses, Sejic incorporates the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness strips he drew in new ways, usually as stories written by Lisa.* RightHandCat: While cat sitting the troublesome Mr. Bonkers, Ally tries to get some use out of [[GenderBlenderName her]] and invoke this image to enhance her powerful and seductive presence. Of course Mr. Bonkers reacts to this by almost instantly bounding off in search of something interesting. * RougeAnglesOfSatin: The dialogue is riddled with typos, which the author has [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded.]] The print comics are properly edited. Somewhat justified with English not being his first language.* SafeSaneAndConsensual** Several strips show the work that Allison and Alan go through to make sure their girls are safe, both physically and mentally. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness made it seem less sane and consensual, though this is not uncommon for BDSM media in general where you often only see a session 'in the moment' without the careful setup and clear prior consent.** The lack of safety and sanity is what makes Alan break off his relationship with Marion - she wanted to go far greater lengths than he was comfortable with leading her, which led to a bad situation for her and him.* SafeWord: The name of the comic comes from Ally's safeword, "Sunstone", which she gives to all her subs, but most prominently Lisa. After the story of Lisa and Ally is complete, future installments will be "Mercy" (Alan's safeword for Anne, though he also uses a three-note hum that can be used through a gag) and "Jaspith" (Marion's safeword for James).* SameFaceDifferentName: Sejic [[http://comments.deviantart.com/1/428758307/3350077360 intentionally]] started the account Shiniez to see how far he could get starting from anonymity by drawing sensual material. When his drawings caught on, he added the storyline the comic is known for.* SecondLove: Ally is this to Lisa; her relationship with her first love ended due to Lisa never getting the confidence to explain her intimate interests to him; despite them discussing engagement before it turned sour; this causes her moments of doubt early into her relationship with Ally. * SexyCoatFlashing** On her second night with Ally, Lisa pays a visit to her house wearing nothing but heels and lingerie under her coat, something she didn't really have the guts to do on the first night.** This is also how Ally first revealed to Alan that she was just as interested in BDSM as he was, only she wore a handmade bondage outfit made of ropes underneath her regular attire rather than going ''au naturel''.** A [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/gallery/38157368#/d4qtnwm teaser future image]] (NSFW) shows Ally and Lisa doing a coat flash, noticed by Marion. * SexySpectacles: Ally ''rocks'' those glasses.* SharedUniverse: As the creators of ''Sunstone'' and ''Webcomic/BloodStain'', Stjepan Sejic and Linda Sejic, are married, not only does each artist draw each other's characters, but both webcomics are set in the same world. The events of each comic are isolated from each other most of the time, except for when the four main characters meet in an in-universe MMORPG, and several non-canon illustrations. As Linda Sejic confirms in [[http://sigeel.deviantart.com/art/elly-ally-354326120 this strip]] both comics will get a real crossover event in the future.* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: She is just the woman I live with, have lots of kinky sex with, and spend most of my time with. Heavy doses of denial makes this possible for the main characters to believe, but their friends? Not so much. * ShoutOut: Quite common due to Ally being a geek:** One strip has Allison, Lisa, and Anne dressed as characters from WorldOfWarcraft.** Another has Lisa dressed as SpiderMan so Allison can kiss her upside down.** Another has Allison dressed as ComicBook/WonderWoman, roping Anne -- dressed as ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} -- and Lisa -- dressed as ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}.** At one point Allison is teased for looking like a [[Franchise/StarTrek Vulcan]].** Lisa seems to be an enthusiastic fan of Sejic's ''other'' personal project, the fantasy comic ''Ravine''.** Meanwhile, Ally seems to have taken an interest in Sejic's newest project, ''ComicBook/DeathVigil''. * SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Lisa. In fact, there are no shortage of redheads in the strip, with Lisa pointing out to Ally at the bottom of one strip that the brunette was outnumbered four-to-one.* SlasherSmile: Ally, when she gets into full-blown domme mode.* SliceOfLife: Despite how weird some elements might seem to people not into the BDSM scene, everything in it is entirely possible, the relationship bits especially so.* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Cassie has this with Chris and Ally.* SpeechBubbles: In addition to the fairly standard ovals, wobbly outlines for sick/drunk character and literally dripping with sarcasm variants the comic also uses more elaborate bubbles, for instance if someone is being TheGadfly their victims anger will be shown by their speech bubble looking like a skull, or in one case FlippingTheBird,* SpeechBubbleCensoring: Thanks to this the comic remains remarkably tasteful despite it's topic and status as mature. * StepfordSmiler: Ally has aspects of this; she keeps her anxieties to herself to remain strong and at times forces smiles. Part of the story of the comic is Lisa gaining Ally's trust so that she can get to the 'human under the mask.'* StupidSexyFriend: Anne reading Lisa's bibliography of [[InkSuitActor self-starring]] kinky erotica served as a good way to explore her attraction towards BDSM, but also, to Anne's annoyance, a good way to explore an attraction towards Lisa. * TanLines: As embarrassing as [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/you-know-that-one-sequel-of-police-academy-317971665 possible]]; Lisa visits the beach only to notice everyone is staring at her. She discovers that she has tan lines from her previous rope suspension session with [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/she-did-eventually-overcome-her-dislike-of-rope-317215995 Ally]]. ''Including lines left from a gag.'' Poor girl.* TattooAsCharacterType: As one of the main characters is a tattoo artist there are a few examples of this.** Lisa gets a tattoo of a winged heart containing the words "Property of Allison" on her posterior, its design and intimate location displaying her relationship to her mistress.** Cassie, despite being a lawyer, is in the process of getting an overly elaborate BDSM tattoo that will cover her back, she points out just like the trope says although it covers a large portion of skin only people she will want to see it will as she is fully dressed in court.** Anne as said tattoo artist has a tattoo of a dragon spanning her back. This shows that Anne, like Cassie, is adventurous.* TestKiss: At the end of their first weekend together Lisa, confused between what she was feeling, initiated this to see if there was something more to her and Ally's relationship than just the dominance and submission. Turns out there was.* TheirFirstTime: This plays out when Ally and Lisa finally meet, but subverted as they've both had sex before; it's their first time trying out BDSM with each other, and naturally, both women are quite nervous about it.* ThreeWaySex: Between Ally, Anne and Lisa in the original, random comics which would later be retconned into Lisa's web-stories. In the actual story, a [[PoorCommunicationKills mutual misunderstanding]] with Ally and Lisa both thinking the other wants this leads to their break-up.* TooKinkyToTorture: Actually averted -- while it is a comic about BDSM, great stress is put on how it's more about trust and limits than about hurting each other. Though it is mentioned that there is a small but visible minority that are this. Lisa is a moderate masochist -- in other words "Hot sauce, yes; ghost peppers, FUCK NO!"* TooManyBelts: From the outfits to the devices themselves, there are a lot of belts and buckles.* UnfazedEveryman: Chris to some degree, as the only recurring character in the strip so far not into BDSM, yet hangs around with the others because his sister and her partner are - and because he makes quite a bit of money creating gear together with Alan.* UnreliableNarrator: Lisa like any good writer exercises her right to embellish; we know this thanks to the framing device allowing us to see Ally criticizing the novel so far as having moments of bullshit. * VitriolicBestBuds** Ally and Alan, when they're not designing rigs and doing sex talks, can be very much a pair of these.** Cassie and Tom, a rare married version, though Cassie has this with almost everyone she knows.* [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys Where Does She Get All Those Wonderful Toys?]]: Ally has a staggeringly impressive collection of toys; including an entire wardrobe of custom made outfits for both ofher subs and herself, cuffs, chains, restraints and suspension rigs, a custom made ''mermaid outfit,'' the infamous "see-saw," a made to order bed just for sex and last but certainly not least an actual ''chariot'' (though that one, like the other ''really'' extraordinary pieces, may be put into Lisa's erotica). We are shown that Alan and Chris make a living out of making these things for people and that Ally is really quite well off, but WordOfGod [[CrackIsCheaper states that Ally has spent forty grand on this collection.]] Lampshaded somewhat in a strip:-->'''Lisa:''' Okay I tried avoiding this question...but, yeah...How much did you spend on all this stuff?-->'''Ally:''' Yeahhh....um, quite a bit....so....really....don't ask.* WholesomeCrossdresser: [[http://shiniez.deviantart.com/art/yeeaahhh-um-marion-and-james-404108438 An often-overlooked teaser hinting at a future chapter 7]] shows James, a background character at Harper's club, will eventually become a crossdressing sub for Marion [[spoiler: after her rope incident.]] [[RecurringExtra He's only been shown or alluded to a couple of times]], and it's implied [[FreakinessShame he hasn't fully accepted that aspect of himself yet]].* WorldOfSnark: Not so much at first; but more and more magnificent snarkers have appeared and older characters have been seen holding their own against them in SnarkToSnarkCombat. ''ALL'' the many red-headed characters in the strip save for Lisa are talented snarkers.* WritingForTheTrade: Just like his approach to writing Ravine, Sejic views his work as full sized graphic novels allowing him to have naturalistic narratives. What makes this interesting is that as the entire work is viewable on deviantart a lot of readers are people who simply spotted the strips when browsing; leading to a lot of confusion in the comments met with suggestions to start from the beginning.* YiddishAsASecondLanguage: A minor example, but several characters use "oy" as an interjection. Since the story is set in [[BigApplesauce New York]], that is not very surprising. ----